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Friday, December 14, 2012

Potluck Fiesta

The holiday season is all about meeting family and friends. And
what better way to meet and greet other than a potluck. Aparna and I also had
our share of potlucks for this holiday season, a couple of weeks back. Both our
potlucks (in Orange County and in the Bay Area) were loads of fun and let’s just
say the crowd and the food were equally appealing.

Aparna made her mouth-watering Kacchi biryani. This recipe
has been adapted from the Kacchi Biryani recipe presented by Komali Nunna in
her gorgeous cookbook titled Trader Joe's-SimplyIndian. Aparna has had the
pleasure of working with Komali on two occasions and is always enamored by her
gorgeous photographs and extraordinary creativity.

I made my version of
the vegetable kofta. I can vouch for the deliciousness of Aparna’s biryani and
as for my kofta, well…the vessel was empty at the end of the dinner :-) Need I say more?

Kacchi Biryani

Ingredients (Serves 6-8)

Mixed vegetables and paneer/tofu (optional) – 2 ½-3 cups

Marinade

Yogurt – 2 cups

Minced garlic – 2 tbsps

Minced ginger – 2 tbsps

Minced green chili – 1 tbsp

Chili powder – 1 tsp

Roasted cumin powder – 1 tbsp

Curry powder – 1 tsp

Ground black pepper – 1 tsp

Salt – 2 tsps

Lime juice – 3 tbsps

Oil – 2 tbsps

Chopped cilantro – ¼ cup

Chopped mint
– ¼ cu

For Rice

Basmati rice
– 3 cups

Salt – 2
tbsps +1 tsp

Saffron – 1
tsp (approx)

Hot milk – ½
cup

Oil – ½ cup

Raisins – ¼
cup

Sliced
almonds – ¼ cup

Large onion
(thinly sliced) – 1

Cilantro and
mint for garnish

Method

Mix all the ingredients
for the marinade and marinate the vegetables and paneer/tofu (if using) in the

refrigerator
for 4-24 hours. Take it out at least an hour or so before cooking, so that it
comes to room

temperature.
Wash the rice and soak for 1 hour with 1 tsp of salt.

Meanwhile,
toast the saffron threads on low heat and crumble over the hot milk. Keep
aside. Heat oil in

a skillet,
add the raisins and fry until they are plump. Remove them onto a plate and into
the same pan

add the
almonds and sauté until they turn a shade darker. Keep them aside with the
raisins. To the same

pan add the
onions and fry them, stirring occasionally until they are golden brown. Keep
them aside and

reserve the
left over oil.

Preheat the
oven to 375oF.

As the oven
is heating, bring 10 cups of water to a boil in a large vessel. Add 2 tbsps of
salt. Once it starts

boiling, add
the rice and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain the rice into a colander. Take an ovenproof
dish,

place one
layer of the vegetable mixture, top with half of the fried onions, and continue
to layer the rice

and
vegetables. Drizzle the saffron milk and reserved oil. Cover the vessel with a
foil and bake for 1-1 ¼

hours. Let
it rest for 15 minutes before opening.

Mix gently
to incorporate all the flavors. Garnish with the raisins, almonds, cilantro,
mint and remaining

Pressure-cook
all the vegetables to three whistles. Remove from stove and allow it to cool
completely. Mash the vegetables to a pulp. I would recommend doing this with a
spatula or your hands. Using a blender might make the vegetables thin and
watery. Add salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala powder, chaat
powder, and the breadcrumbs to the vegetables and mix it well. Separate the
mashed vegetables into equal sized portions.

Take a deep
pan for frying and heat oil. Roll the divided vegetable balls with breadcrumbs.
Fry the balls until they turn crisp and brown. Remove and allow it to cool in a
plate.

In a pan,
heat oil and sauté onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and cashews until they are
well cooked. Allow this mixture to cool and then blend the sautéed mixture to
make a fine paste. In a soup pan, add butter and allow it to soften. Pour the
ground paste in the pan. Add the spices and 2 or 2 ½ cups of water. Allow it to
boil for 2 minutes, then simmer, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from stove
and allow it to cool.

Take two or
three ladles of the gravy. Place the koftas in a vessel and spoon the gravy on
top very slowly. Make sure the koftas are completely cooled or they will break
when the gravy is poured on top of them. Let this sit until serving time.

Just before serving, heat up the remaining gravy
for a minute or two and then spoon the rest of the gravy slowly on top of the
koftas. Serve warm with Aparna’s delicious vegetable biryani or roti.

About Us

We have been friends for a long time and we have done it all: bunked classes, watched movies, sleepovers, trips and more. Some friendships last only through the school or college years but looks like this one was meant to be…because we are still friends.
After having cooked for our families and friends for a few years, we had the urge to cook for others. This led to the idea of opening a restaurant called ‘Square Meals’, which would take patrons on a gastronomic journey through different parts of India. The restaurant never materialized and the next best thing was this blog.
The Square Meals blog provides taste-tested recipes for you to try in your own kitchens. Join us on our culinary journey as we share some of our mouth-watering creations with foodies all over the world.